"Both parties are the same."

[sheshe2]

Last edited Sun Mar 9, 2014, 10:32 PM - Edit history (1)

If we've learned nothing these past five years, we've learned there is indeed a wide chasm between the two. Perhaps wider than it's been in decades.



https://www.facebook.com/SickOfTheSlant

This is what the media wants you to believe. This is what the right wants you to believe. They are all crooks, they are all in the pockets of wealthy corporations etc etc etc. So... Sit out the vote.

The GOP is banking on us not voting. We can not survive another few years of a House run by the GOP. They are destroying what is left of the middle class. They attempt to take the best healthcare we have seen and replace it with nothing. They want us to die. They starve our children by taking snap benefits away and refusing extended unemployment benefits. They have taken more, so much more. They have taken our rights and our dignity. I say no more.

The GOP is the party of narcissists. They are not for the people or by the people. They are in it for themselves and there obscenely rich benefactors.

Not voting. Nope, not an option! Not if we all care about this country and it's future. Vote as if your life depends upon it, because it does.

[Kolesar]

1. It is a narrowly cast message for the DUers who have their black tennies laced too tight

...and their thinking is impaired.
Or else they get aroused by flaming the guys I voted for.

[SidDithers]

2. DU rec...

Sid

[sheshe2]

14. Thanks Sid!

[Cha]

3. Yes, it does save people a lot of pesky

knowledgeable details.. like..



"Plus not voting will save me a 1$ on gas "



Excellent find she~Thank you!

[sheshe2]

5. Thank you for the list of blocked bills.

The tone deaf party. That they are.

You know Cha, I am tired too. That however will never stop me from finding the truth. Even when you find a source you think is true it always helps to find a second that supports it. I don't want he said she said. I like facts. They matter.

They matter Cha, because we matter. Those pesky facts indeed!

Vote Vote Vote!

Thank you!

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. There's nothing quite like wearing blinders and repeating the, "they're both the same" mantra...

voting out of SPITE (to re-elect a Republican), then sitting down on one's butt and doing absolutely nothing to help matters but whining a lot.

[freshwest]

49. +1. The closest to energy efficiency some will ever get. And then they miss the big picture. n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

51. Indeed! nt

[Historic NY]

52. +1

[BlueCaliDem]

4. Another DU rec!

What the American people who consume American media "news" don't understand is, the well-to-do and well-connected in this country that leach off of hard working Americans and undocumented workers for own gain, own or have connections with the owners of our media. ALL of the media.

Every now and then, to keep up the deception, they'll toss in a noted Liberal commentator, but a closer look at our media tells us that our Fourth Estate is dead and well-crafted propaganda outlets have taken its place. It's in their best interest to keep the American people divided and ignorant - or, at least, confused - using every hot button issue and dog whistle they can toward that end.

What we need to do is take all news with salt, sometimes a pinch, sometimes a pound, depending on how severe the propaganda is. I've noticed that the most loyal voters who vote Democratic Party are usually those who don't consume news in any shape or form. Their judgment isn't clouded, they're usually very skeptical, and they're not impressed with the "news" that they feel is screwing them over no matter how many pretty words the stenographers of the media can produce.

[sheshe2]

7. A pinch or a pound, BlueCali.

Lately it seems we need a pound.

The media spin is out of control! I have watched TV news about a dozen times in the past 2 years. I have better resources on the internet. Far better and more honest. You can research the facts and not listen to one source.

I am sick of the "well connected", I prefer the facts.

Thank you for your post.

[freshwest]

59. Nailed it! Sad, isn't it. Listened nightly to Rather and others - when reporters were more working

class and less kiss ass. People once took Journalism to make a difference in the world. Now they get hired on the basis of how presentable they are or if they are good at hawking the company line. And there really is one being sold to us. All of it billionaire bullshit they want us all to swallow. Too many have and asked for seconds. The conservative infotainment bubble keeps on growing. Till one feels half insane to object. Because 'everyone is doing it.' Lemmings don't see the cliff.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Thank you! AND this is exactly what I've heard right wingers say to me

Prove a right winger wrong, and they'll either say outrageous things, OR, they'll say, "well, ok, both parties are just as bad." No, they are not. If I hear one more time out of anyone that both parties are the same, I think I will explode. That statement is just pure BS.

[sheshe2]

9. It is bull, Sarah.

I hate to hear it. They are wrong and so sadly uninformed.

We need to vote. It's one of the ways to see change happen. The other one, well no one person can do it alone now can they. We all need to be as active after the election as we were before it.

Thanks Sarah.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. Yup! Voting is #1. Getting out all the vote. nt

[baldguy]

10. K&R

Too many here on DU trust Rand Paul and Glenn Greenwald over Barack Obama. And they still have an excess of arrogant stupidity to claim to be progressive Democrats while they do it.

[IrishAyes]

19. What you said.

[Andy823]

47. +100,000... nt

[freshwest]

50. With you guys. n/t

[sheshe2]

56. ...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. When so-called Journalists say it they are Drop Dead Lazy & Incompetent. nt

[marble falls]

12. Great post with an important message.

[Cheese4TheRat]

13. But let us not pretend that both parties being different implies one party is liberal.

Because there is no liberal party among
the two major parties. What we have is the nutjob wing controlling one party and the conservative wing controlling the other party.

[sheshe2]

16. Really...

A LONG List Of President Obama’s Accomplishments (With Citations)

If you’re one of those folks who thinks President Obama is a “disappointment,” you haven’t been paying attention the last few years. And those of you who try to draw comparisons with the Bush Administration should put away the hallucinogens and have your memory checked. If you were in a coma for the eight Bush Years, I apologize and forgive you. But please join the real world. So far, this president has done most of what he said he would do if elected; imagine what he could have done by now if progressives had supported him and not given him a Congress that doesn’t look at him as if he’s the demon seed.

Not only is Obama NOT a “disappointment,” he’s pretty much the opposite.
Not only is he NOT a “disappointment,” he’s pretty much the opposite. And no, I don’t just say that because he took out Osama bin Laden, helped Libya determine their own destiny for the first time in a while, and because he seems able to handle international incidents without starting a new war. The guy does nearly everything we elect a president to do, and he doesn’t brag about it constantly.

Is he perfect? No, he’s human. Does he deserve some criticism? I suppose, but I must admit I haven’t seen any complaints that were of based on anything having to do with the real world. One I can’t forgive him for is pulling Janet Napolitano out of Arizona. But the thing is, on balance, he’s mostly stellar. Besides, criticism about certain specific problems is one thing; taking on an overall “Obama sucks” meme not only has the potential to put Willard Romney into power, it’s also a lie. Just because you wanted a president who would give you a glitter-farting unicorn and didn’t quite get that doesn’t mean he’s not doing well at the job we hired him for.

What follows is a PARTIAL list of Obama’s accomplishments so far. Unlike many such lists, there is a link to a citation supporting every single one.

Oh do read more~ http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/02/15/a-long-list-of-president-obamas-accomplishments-with-citations/

[IrishAyes]

20. You go, girl! Tell it!

[sheshe2]

22. LOL!

Ha. Think I will make that an OP tomorrow! News at 5~

IrishAyes~

[Cheese4TheRat]

29. Ignoring for the moment that I made NO MENTION of President Obama,

the Democratic Party does not consist of the President alone. I am not going to get into a debate about the awesomeness of the most awesome president of forever.

I am simply stating the Democratic Party, as it operates today, is by no means a liberal party, and certainly not the Party of FDR.

But here is a link for you to peruse, straight from the horse's mouth. (And that is an actual phrase, just in case you feign horror and consider me racist as well as an Obama hater)

I apologize for the commercial that precedes the clip: http://fusion.net/leadership/story/obama-considered-moderate-republican-1980s-12240

And an 80s moderate Republican was a Reaganite, in case your history knowledge disappeared down the memory hole.

[hfojvt]

34. some people might have wanted

a Democratic President who did not embrace Reaganomic talking points.

So on a list of Obama's accomplishments are a few things that Republicans would applaud.

What do Republicans always push? Tax cuts, tax cuts and more tax cuts. Tax cuts, Republicans say, are always good. And tax increases are bad.

And Obama embraces that message, and so, apparently, do his supporters. From his list of accomplishments:

"Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act , he cut taxes for 95% of America’s working families. http://bit.ly/eSEI4F

Under Obama, tax rates for average working families are the lowest they’ve been since 1950. http://bit.ly/f74pD8

He extended and fully funded the patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax for 10 years. http://bit.ly/eFeSdP"

Take the first one as an example. According to CTJ, the stimulus cut taxes for 98% of working Americans. http://ctj.org/pdf/truthaboutobamataxcuts.pdf

However, they don't bother to mention that the richest 10% got 34% of those tax cuts. The richest 20% got 51% of them.

On the other hand, the poorest 40% only got 23% of them.

So, uhm, yeah, it's so great that Obama cut taxes in a way that benefits the top 20% far more than it helps the bottom 40%. That's definitely what I was hoping he would do when I voted for him twice.

No, actually, it wasn't.

For some reason, I was hoping for better than that.

[sibelian]

40. Yes, lovely, but...

If it's not what the members of this board felt they were voting for, no amount of snotty pose-striking will convince them of your position. That's probably just going to piss them off.

The word "meme" is also problem. It has no value whatsoever as a critical tool as it really means exactly the same thing as "idea".

[okaawhatever]

15. Absolutely. And these days, voting is not enough. For some it may be all they can do, but for

others donating time and/or money to the campaigns. Educating yourself on the issues and legislation so that you may educate others.

Citizens United was only one nail in the coffin of democracy. The rest we either put there ourselves, or did nothing while others put them there. There isn't anything in this country the people can't fix. If they're willing.

[AAO]

18. I've NEVER missed a national vote since I first voted in 1976 for James Earl Carter (great man).

If we could only convince people how important it is to vote. How people like me DEPEND on them participating in the system. How people like THEMSELVES depend on them taking part. We really could take complete control if we had an electorate educated in the real differences in the 2 parties.

Then, the scales would begin to tip slowly toward "We, the People".

[Peacetrain]

21. I logged on just to reply to this

Amen and Amen to your op.. We are watching Koch money being thrown at Braley who is running for the senate.. I get so sick and tired of the "they are all the same" that some sing. I mean millions being thrown around this state to try and sidetrack the election

Edit to add.. Iowa,

[sheshe2]

26. Thank you Peacetrain!

We vote, it is a life and death situation. It truly is!

[Andy823]

48. Exactly

If they were "all the same" the billionaires could save their money and just let things go the way they are. When the dump millions into one party, republican, it is pretty obvious "they" don't really believe both parties are the same!

[davidn3600]

23. In a few ways they are very much the same...

-They both love war (Democrats pretend not to whenever convenient)
-They both love the NSA spying on us.
-They are both capitalist that are bought and paid for by the richest banks and corporations.

They are different on social issues. But economic and foreign policy they are very much the same. Which is why nothing ever seems to change on those two fronts no matter who's elected. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. And that trend will continue no matter who wins the White House in 2016.

[sheshe2]

27. They both love war?

Which war did President Barack Obama start?

[davidn3600]

33. He wanted to bomb the crap out of Syria but Russia wouldnt let him

And I advise you to look at the Democrats attitude towards Iraq before Bush was elected. People say we wouldnt have invaded Iraq if Gore was president. I disagree. There is absolutely nothing that was going to stop that war. BOTH parties were beating that drum loud and clear.

Kerry, Pelosi, Hillary, etc.... all voted for the Iraq war.

And now you are going to claim the party is against war?

[jeff47]

58. Because "Good cop, good cop" is very effective.

He wanted to bomb the crap out of Syria but Russia wouldnt let him

Because Syria decided to give up it's chemical weapons at that time for shits and giggles.

Obama threatened. Russia played good cop, but warned they didn't know how long they could stop the evil US. Syria gave up the weapons.

People say we wouldnt have invaded Iraq if Gore was president. I disagree.

You know....I think there might have been a president before W. Clin...something-or-other. Heck, some group named PNAC might have been pushing for a war with Iraq and he didn't invade. Oddly enough, when half of W's administration was made up of PNAC, he invaded.

Nah, must be both parties are terrible.

BOTH parties were beating that drum loud and clear.

Citation Needed. Specifically, pre-2001 Gore and Democratic members of Congress calling for an invasion.

Kerry, Pelosi, Hillary, etc.... all voted for the Iraq war.

Yes. W's administration was very, very effective politically. Democrats were cowering in terror. They didn't want to get the "Max Cleland treatment".

It was dumb for them to do. But they weren't the ones pushing for invasion. They were running in terror from those that were.

[airplaneman]

24. Yes I'm voting as if our lives depend on it.

2014 and 2016 are probably the most important ones in my lifetime.
-Airplane

[Jamaal510]

25. Another one that drives me nuts

is when people talk about supposedly voting for "the lesser of two evils". Compared to the GOP, the Democratic Party's platform is vastly superior. The Democratic Party isn't perfect, but then again, what political party is? Political parties are made up by humans, after all. And Democrats are not the ones who are seeking to take away people's right to vote, or women's right to contraceptives, or gay rights. Our party is not the one that opposes minimum wage hikes, a progressive tax rate, expanded access to health care (except for a small few in Congress), environmental standards, or food and safety standards. Unemployment and the deficit have both gone down under Democratic administrations, while the reverse has been true for Republican administrations. Furthermore, when people paint the entire Party as "the lesser of two evils", it neglects the fact that our party really is a big tent; there are Blue Dogs, and there are those who are moderate and liberal Dems. With the GOP, there is basically just the hard-right; the moderates have very little say, and the word "liberal Republican" has become an oxymoron.

[sheshe2]

28. I would kick your post if I could.

However I can highly recommend anyone here to read it!

Thank you Jamaal!

[Jamaal510]

30. Maybe I'll make it

a separate OP later.

[sheshe2]

32. You should!

[Bonobo]

31. They are not the same.

Neither are oreo cookies and chocolate chip cookies.

And I agree Dems are vastly superior and more moral.

BUT their similarities DO need to be pointed out at times to make a point.

Too much military, too little emphasis on the poor.

[Behind the Aegis]

36. There are a number of areas in which the Democratic party could improve.

But claiming the two parties are the same, saying it isn't important to vote, is bullshit! You say "Vote as if your life depends upon it, because it does." As a gay man, it fucking does!

Once again, I proudly recommend one of your posts!

[sheshe2]

57. Thank you BtA.

[HughBeaumont]

37. They're definitely not the same.

One is centrist, the other is arch-right wing. The nearest well-funded alternative is arch-right wing AND logically unsound.

Economically, that still leaves the middle/working/poor classes up shit's creek minus a rowboat.

Still, being apathetic and saying "They're the same" gives you Dubya Bewsh (and now, Dubya Bewsh on steroids).

. . . and here we are. Sigh.

[TexasProgresive]

38. "Both parties are the same!" shouts the RW wacko

in an attempt to use psychological warfare to suppress the vote. It has always been in their interest to stop people voting by any means as they are never really in the majority.

[aikoaiko]

39. I hear it more from the left wing.

[Hekate]

41. KnR, kids.

GOTV 2014....

[FSogol]

42. K & R. n/t

[B Calm]

43. Both parties are the same is a Republican message!

It's their way of getting the uninformed to vote against their own self best interests.

[ucrdem]

44. Sooooooooooooo true.

Unless we' re talking about Repuplicans and Teabaggers that is.


p.s. great post! Should be pinned, seriously. Lots of people buy into this because it gets repeated constantly by a certain "Libertarian anarchist" and his gullible followers. And I don't mean Alex Jones.

[Romulox]

45. They are more alike than different as to economic issues. That's the key. nt

[Vattel]

46. They are very different, but there are some depressing similarities:

Both don't do nearly enough for the poor.
Both are absurdly militaristic.
Both are too willing to kill innocent bystanders as "collateral damage" in war.
Neither shows any interest in amending federal criminal law to make waterboarding, etc. unambiguously criminal.
Neither is serious about prison reform (e.g., making solitary confinement humane).
Both continue the war on drugs (although there are signs of improvement on the Dem side).
Both treat undocumented workers like shit.
Both have contributed to the erosion of our rights under the bill of rights.
Both have expanded executive power in unconstitutional and dangerous ways.
Both went after Drake and other whistle-blowers in unconscionable ways.
Both don't give a shit about nonhuman sentient beings.
Both lie and lie and lie.

I could go on.

[G_j]

53. +100

[harun]

60. Both compete for the love of the 1% more than the 99%.

[stage left]

54. Living in the reddest of red states,

I hear this all the time, usually when I point out something the Republican Congress has just done, or, more likely, not done. No! No! No! Both parties are not the same. Republicans, who seem intent on turning this country into a theocracy, are dangerously bat shit crazy on many, many levels. The Democratic Party, while not quite as liberal as I might like, is, at least, rational.

[11 Bravo]

55. Sorry I can only rec this once!